J. Allan Dunn

“ Now Sperry was through. He could imagine the bulky stuff being burned in a furnace, but he knew where the jewels were stored, and he knew now the mysterious chief’s identity. For the man who had put the loot in his safe was his stepfather, Cairns: the driver was Peters, and the helper a footman.
Here was cause for elation, yet how was he to make use of it? He himself was still an outlaw, and must act through others. Baldy was his only friend, and he was bound to Baldy by many ties. But for the Chicago crook he would be dead in the vault. ”

“ But he felt sure that Baldy would find some way to help him out of his dilemma, and he was very certain that his present duty was to warn Baldy, who might be even now proclaimed as traitor to the gang by Remington. If they had not hesitated to leave him in the tomb, what might they not do to Baldy? And to Baldy’s daughter? He remembered that they had merely told Baldy that he, Sperry, had given them the slip with cold feet. Were they giving the man with the mole the benefit of the doubt until the last job was pulled, needing his aid? ”

“ What he suffered from most was the fact that he dared not smoke while on guard, and found the lonely hours drag interminably. His great consolation was that, long before this, he would have become one of the silent occupants of the tomb, uncoffined and unepitaphed, but most effectually out of the world. And he was very far from wishing to have done with worldly affairs. His love of Elizabeth undoubtedly did much to give him a sane grip on events and furnish him with hope of ultimate rehabilitation. ”

“ We have no desire to usurp the duties of the police, but, if they are unable to secure the services of competent detectives, the Comet stands ready, as heretofore, to volunteer the aid of their own representatives, who have already performed notably in the running down of crime. ”

“ I fancy your stepfather is back of that lease, cleverly covered. The repairs give a fine opportunity for what has been going on: a tunnel, starting underneath the stage, runs up and under the main vault of the bank.”
“But that vault is at the end of the safety-deposit department,” said Sperry. “There is only a heavy rail across, and the bank is lighted at night so that any one passing can see clear down to the end of the vault.”
Baldy smiled.
“Wait and see,” he said. “Everything is timed for to-night. There is a grip in your room with painters’ tools inside of it. Just a precaution. ”

“ To Sperry’s chagrin, his information did not seem to impress Baldy overwhelmingly. He laid stress only upon one part of the discovery, that Sperry had seen the jewels stowed in the safe that Cairns had installed in the library since he had assumed mastership at Swiftbrook Bowl.
“Your affairs and mine seem to run together, son,” he said whimsically. “And we’ll straighten out the whole mix before we get through with it, take it from me. Meantime, don’t worry about Remington. I’ve looked out for that. You are back just in time. This trip you will be an inside man. ”

“ Cairns, already brewing. It was good news and it heartened him. The other was not so reassuring. It was a semi-editorial from a New York daily. It was:
It has long been evident that the series of robberies that the police have been so singularly unable to prevent or follow up are being committed by the same operatives. Each crime bears the distinct marks of inside work, coupled to skillful burglary. The police can find no trace of any endeavor to dispose of the valuables acquired, much less any clew as to who may be the criminals. ”

“ The police have no information to give out—or will give none—which is tantamount to admitting that they lack even the clews they so often mention. To convince the public, if they need such conviction, that the Comet is zealous only for the common weal, and is not acting on unadvised impulse, we will state information that has already been unearthed by us to this effect. ”

“ Also, Chief Cairns announces this as the final wind-up. He has undoubtedly seen the Comet, and read the writing on the wall. He has agreed to see certain of us as a committee after the job is done. We are to go over from Longfield to Swiftbrook Bowl by motor. You will be with the committee, and maybe you’ll have a chance to tell your stepfather what you think of him, and come to some agreement.”
"But I’m mixed up in this,” said Sperry. “Look at this disguise.”
“It needs fixing,” said Baldy. “Bess will do it. Remember, there are more ways than one of killing a goose and of cooking it. ”

“ They hint vaguely at a master mind, at a powerful organization run upon strictly business principles, if crime may be styled business or allowed any principles. There, having established a hypothesis that bears some claim to being logical, they stop. ”